{"product_id":"ugetsu-monogatari-tales-moonlight-rain-329ehd7i","title":"Ugetsu Monogatari [Tales of Moonlight and Rain]","description":"\u003cp\u003eSekino Junichiro’s take on the great classic, the Ugetsu Monogatari or \u003cem\u003eTales of Moonlight and Rain\u003c\/em\u003e, beautifully illustrated with copperplate etchings. This is an extraordinarily sumptuous book to have printed in 1944, at the height of War. The present copy is in especially fine condition. Curiously, a previous owner has placed letterpress printed sheets of paper as tissue guards.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWritten by author and poet Ueda Akinari (pen name Senshi Kijin, 1734-1809), the \u003cem\u003eUgetsu Monogatari\u003c\/em\u003e was first published in five volumes in 1776. Widely regarded as a landmark book in Japanese literature, the book comprises nine chilling stories of the supernatural that were adapted from classical Chinese tales.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSekino Junichiro (1914-1988) was one of the leading figures of \u003cem\u003esosaku-hanga\u003c\/em\u003e. He was born in the very north of Japan, in Aomori, then moved south and became involved in \u003cem\u003esosaku-hanga\u003c\/em\u003e groups, including the Ichimoku-kai ‘First Thursday Society’. Unusually for artists of the time, Sekino was very multi disciplinary, being accomplished in a wide range of printing methods. He was a student of the great Onchi Koshiro (1891-1955) and later taught in art universities across America. He printed a number of limited edition books in woodblock, stencil, etching and collaborated with fellow artists too, such as the illustrator Takei Takeo. The present title is a fine example of his skill has a printer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSekino had a fascination with the supernatural, and many of of books explore this theme. He was also fond of classical literature, and collaborated with the art book publisher Seien-so to print modern, illustrated editions – another example being an interpretation of the \u003cem\u003eKojiki,\u003c\/em\u003e printed in stencil (\u003cem\u003ekappa-ban\u003c\/em\u003e) in 1949. Both editions were bound by Naito Masakatsu (dates unknown), who was known for creative book bindings.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRare. Only 1 copy in OCLC (in Japan).\u003c\/p\u003e\n","brand":"Maggs Bros.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48833626570909,"sku":"263613","price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/0045\/9677\/files\/263613_10.jpg?v=1787569816","url":"https:\/\/store.maggs.com\/products\/ugetsu-monogatari-tales-moonlight-rain-329ehd7i","provider":"Maggs Bros.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}